Man Up: Veterans step up for Eagles
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Man Up: Veterans step up for Eagles
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
We did the offense on Monday.
And here's the player-by-player look at the Eagles' defensive performance against the Bears Sunday night:
Juqua Parker - No sacks, but he did a decent job pressuring Jay Cutler. Parker also did a good job against the run, except for an 8-yard Kahlil Bell carry in the second where he got blocked.
Mike Patterson - He made some really nice plays against the run, disrupting a Matt Forte carry in the red zone in the second quarter. It's rare to see Patterson taken down like he was on an 8-yard Forte carry in the first.
Antonio Dixon - I should go back and count the snaps, but it certainly seemed like Sean McDermott rotated him and Trevor Laws in less than previous weeks. Dixon of course came up with the huge block of the Robbie Gould field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
Brodrick Bunkley - Overall, he created disruption in the middle, but there were a couple plays where the Bears figured out ways to block him. The 72-yard Bell run went right at Bunkley as the Bears initially double-teamed him to create a hole. They also blocked him on a 5-yard Forte run in the first.
Trent Cole - Good, consistent pressure from the edge throughout the game. Cole forced some rushed Cutler throws and drew a holding penalty in the second. He picked up a sack, lining up in the middle like a linebacker and storming Cutler unblocked. He was blocked on the 72-yard Bell run, but other than that, played well against the run. Classic relentlessness from Cole in the fourth quarter when players are usually gassed. On a screen to Forte, he rushed Cutler, fell down, got up and ran downfield to make the tackle from behind.
Chris Clemons - Clemons got some good pressure on Cutler multiple times, combining with Cole to force hurried throws. There was one third down in the second when the rush created an incompletion, forcing the Bears to settle for a field goal. He was one of several Eagles to miss a tackle on Earl Bennett in the second, allowing him to pick up 19 yards and a first down.
Victor Abiamiri - As I said earlier, it seemed like McDermott rotated in guys like Abiamiri less than in previous weeks. He did a teriffic job bringing down Forte on a screen on 3rd-and-12, forcing the Bears to settle for a field-goal attempt, which Dixon blocked. A big play that's been overlooked.
Darren Howard - Not much from Howard. I noticed one play where the Bears ran right at him with success, but that's about it.
Jeremiah Trotter - The Axe Man looked better than he has all season, taking over the middle from Joe Mays in the second half. He stuffed Forte on the first play of the game and finished with four tackles, one fewer than he had in the previous six games. Trotter evan came on a blitz and looked OK in coverage, bringing Forte down after a 7-yard gain in the fourth.
Joe Mays - He didn't see the field much in the second half. Mays missed a tackle on an 8-yard Forte run and was blocked on the 72-yard Bell run. It looked like he made the wrong read on another 8-yard run in the first. He had a couple bright spots, one on a run play early on and another on a WR screen in the third.
Chris Gocong - Not a good performance from Gocong. He consistently seemed a step behind on run plays, finishing with just one tackle. Gocong bit badly on play-action on the play where Cutler overthrew Greg Olsen. By the way, am I the only one who thinks Olsen had a good shot to catch that ball? Why didn't he lay out? Gocong was also beat by Kellen Davis on the third-quarter touchdown, and it looked like he was responsible for Forte on the 2-point conversion also.
Will Witherspoon - He was OK. Witherspoon was blocked by the fullback on Bell's 72-yard run. He missed a tackle on the Bennett catch that went for 19 yards and was called for illegal contact in the second. Wietherspoon did drop Forte for a loss on a second-quarter run in the red zone. He also batted down a Cutler pass, coming on a blitz in the third.
Moise Fokou - The rookie was barely used. I believe I saw him on one play in the second, but that might have been it.
Tracy White - He was the primary partner to Witherspoon in the nickel. White came up with the big deflection at the end that resulted in the game-clinching interception.
Asante Samuel - Samuel was burned on a double move by Devin Hester, but Cutler overthrew him. Otherwise, it was an easy touchdown. He had ups and downs as a tackler before leaving the game with a stinger.
Sheldon Brown - What else can you say about Brown? Gutsy effort. He made a great play to bat down a pass intended for Hester late in first half and almost picked one off, jumping a slant later in the game. He missed a tackle and was beaten badly by Johnny Knox, but Cutler overthrew him (sensing a theme here...). Loved the savvy move to bring Bennett down short of the first down, but still keep him in bounds on the Bears' final drive. Just a great effort overall, something the fans and his teammates should appreciate.
Dimitri Patterson - An improvement from a week ago. The Bears didn't really attack Patterson, and he showed he's a pretty sound tackler. He made a nice play on a WR screen to Hester in the third, but was also called for illegal contact on an earlier play.
Macho Harris - I thought he had one of his better performances of the season. Harris was used in different ways with the injuries to the Eagles' cornerbacks, and his cover skills came in handy. Harris blew up a WR screen to Hester on the first drive and made a nice tackle on Bennett in the second. He looked good as the team's kickoff return man also.
Quintin Mikell - He also played well, providing nice support against the run and finishing as the team's leading tackler with eight.
Sean Jones - To be honest, I didn't notice him much throughout the game until Jones made the big interception at the end. He finished with four tackles.
JONES was everywhere. Around the ball constantly. to be honest, he took a bad angle on the Bell run, but the pick helped offset that one mistake.— phillyinATL
Man UP: Peter Griffin !!— daveH
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- let's hope jordan is back. trot is a good interview.— JACK V
- Gocong is NOT a linebacker. When will this experiment end so that the team can bring in a real LB who can cover?— farside37
- Agreed. Gocong hasn't been good all season and this game he was awful. When do we get Jordan back? He's been our best LB all season.— sla6yer
- tracy white has made some plays these last few weeks, hope they get him on the field more. Gocong has been pretty bad in coverage since becoming a starter. With Witherspoon on the team, may next year you see Jordan move to the strong side and Witherspoon go weakside with Stew in the middle. They were lucky Jay Cutler sucked though. That offense needs to drop atleast 24 to win going forward. Let's hope the injury bug goes away soon... Be nice to have Jordan and Hanson (not injured but...) along with the 5 starting guys from the o line healthy down the stretch.— sore richard
- I am anxious to see our LB rotation next year when Bradley is back in the fold. I would assume that Bradley, Jordan and Witherspoon are our three best and should be penciled in as starters. Gocong's stock is dropping, Gaither was already on thin ice before the injury, Trotter is a feel good story coming to an end, Mays was a late round pick that doesn't have the NFL moxy, and Fokou is still a rookie that may get one more chance. What are your thoughts?— bobo_29
- His name is spelled Brodrick Bunkley.— philsphan29
- Did Jack Ikegwuonu see the field on D at all?— HandNik
- Comment removed.
I agree with bobo. Gocong is not a pro linebacker. We need to trade Samuel for a high draft pick and get someone who can tackle, cover, and make plays (interceptions). I also want to see them move up and get at least one of the top safeties in the draft. Cole also needs a bookend DE with some skills. The offense should just get better with some continuity.- Sheil - Olsen should have caught that ball. Cutler might be awful, but he laid a great pass in there on that play. Which only suggests that Gocong is terrible as a strong-side LB. Remember that he was a down lineman in a weak conference in college - he was drafted for his presumed pass rush skills first, and he has none of those either. In the Eagles scheme, the absence of coverage skills in a SLB creates a major deficiency. On the other side of the spectrum, Trent Cole had one of his great games. The play in which he got up and caught the ball-carrier from behind was pure guts.
- @bobo - I am not sure that Witherspoon (strong) - Bradley (middle) - Jordan (weak) is a working combo. Witherspoon is a bit small, and his strength is coverage. He does not fit the ideal for a 4-3 strong-side LB in the Eagles system. I think that he would be a great nickle LB and change-of-pace for Jordan, who should win the weak-side job. All of this, of course, assumes that Witherspoon makes the team next year.
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